Montréal,  6 nov. - 19 nov. 1999
Numéro 49
 
  (page 13) 
 
 
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REMEMBRANCE DAY
  
FLANDERS FIELDS REVISITED
  
 
  by Scott Carpenter
 
In Flanders fields the poppies blow 
Between the crosses, row on row, 
That mark our place; and in the sky 
The larks still bravely singing, fly 
Scarce heard amid the guns below. 
  
We are the Dead. Short days ago 
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow, 
Loved and were loved, and now we lie 
In Flanders Fields. 
  
Take up our quarrel with the foe: 
To you from failing hands we throw 
The torch; be yours to hold it high. 
If ye break faith with us who die, 
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow 
In Flanders Fields. 
  
John McCrae – 1915
 
 
 
 
 
 
          John McCrae died in 1918 as a result of injuries sustained in WWI. I often wonder what he would have to say if he were here today to witness the state that this once great nation has fallen into. Would he be oblivious like most of us are to the decay of our democracy and the rise of the beast called socialism? Or would he, like many of the vets I have spoken with lately, complain bitterly about the intrusion of the state into our everyday lives? 
  
          Of course any answer to this question would be mere speculation. Or would it? 
  
Take up our quarrel with the foe 
  
          Who was John's foe? The Germans? On a superficial level the answer may be that simple. But in any other possible universe the answer may have been different. The fact of the matter is that John's foe, at least physically speaking, could have been a number of different peoples. It is my assertion that in fact John's foe was not simply « the German people » but rather the ideology which they, at that point in history, happened to embody. 
  
          What ideology was that? Without going into a very nit picky and deep analysis of Germany's history up to and including the beginning of the 20th century one would have to classify it as fascism. John, in my opinion, was calling on future generations to defend the ideals that he and his brethren were giving their lives for. He and millions like him, died in the quest to preserve our freedom. 
  
          But in what way have we honoured their sacrifice? Almost a hundred years ago these brave men gave their lives so that our Common Wealth could remain in a state of Liberty. But now, as I look around me I fear that we have failed John and his comrades. I fear that the words of one WWII Veteran I recently spoke with have come true: 
          « Scott, how can we believe that we have the right to life when our own government won't recognize our right to own private property? For God's sake that's what we were fighting for wasn't it? For our own freedom? Do they think we are stupid? How can we call ourselves free when our own lives don't even belong to us in the eyes of our government? I'm nearly dead son. I just hope your generation has the courage to do something about it. »
 
  
« Each generation born into this world seems to understand less and less the principles of individual liberty which made this continent so strong. »
 
 
 
To you from failing hands we throw 
The torch; be yours to hold it high. 
  
          If the handing off of this torch were a football game my generation has fumbled the ball. And perhaps so too has my father's. Each generation born into this world seems to understand less and less the principles of individual liberty which made this continent so strong. From Texas to the Yukon Canadians and Americans have enjoyed lives free from conflict and oppression. But this is changing and the mechanisms which degrade these principles come at us from every legal and philosophical direction imaginable. From antitrust laws in the U.S. to gun control in Canada, all serve one ultimate purpose: to subjugate the individual to the power of the state. In another generation or two, with the help of « Grand Fathering Clauses » and « Orders in Council » private ownership of firearms will be non existent in this country. Lovers of Freedom and Liberty are effectively being bred out of existence. 
  
          I read somewhere once that « If we truly cared about our children and future generations, instead of demagoging about them, we'd worry more about saving liberty than saving Social Security. » We have failed John because we chose to turn to our government to take care us instead of looking after ourselves. Dependence on the state breeds complacency. Complacency is the handmaiden of tyranny for it is this quality that allows our leaders and bureaucrats to expand their powers for « our own good ». In the rush to grab a piece of the socialist pie we have inadvertently allowed the government to shackle us with the chains of slavery. In the end we have unknowingly embraced the very system that John and our ancestors died fighting. 
  
If ye break faith with us who die, 
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow 
In Flanders Fields. 
  
          Beware. The dead are stirring.
 
 
 
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